When Jehovah’s Witnesses first started calling on my wife and I, we knew very little about the Bible. The message that this world with all its wickedness and suffering was soon to end and be replaced by a new order under the rulership of Christ Jesus was very appealing to me. To believe that God had a purpose for mankind, gave my life a new direction.
Acceptance of Watchtower doctrine along with its rules and regulations is expected of any that wish to be baptized. Your told that being baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses puts one on the road to life and only then can you have any meaningful relationship with God, I was baptized on January 2nd 1982.
Zeal for new found truths caused me to spend most of my waking hours involved in personal study, preparation for meetings, Field Ministry plus many other things that is expected of you as a Jehovah’s Witness.
Humble acceptance of Watchtower leadership is a prime requirement of appointed men in the Congregations, all men are encouraged to reach out for this "privilege". After about 3yrs, I was appointed as Ministerial Servant, then in 1992 I was appointed as an Elder.
I enjoyed life as a Jehovah’s Witness, I began to associate with people from different walks of life, young and old, rich and poor. The ministry, i.e.: going to peoples houses with the Kingdom message, brought me into contact with all sorts of people, and through it I got to see many places that normally in everyday life I would not see. I gained experience as a public speaker, encouraging people in their faith by giving a sermon, brought me satisfaction.
Bringing my children up with moral values, gave me a sense of dignity and pride in my family life. Working along with others in Kingdom Hall construction, and seeing goodwill displayed, convinced me that I had found the true "Christian way" of life, often referred to by Jehovah’s Witnesses as the truth.
All is not "Rosy in the Garden"
Meeting Attendance & Field Service.
The Watchtower Society puts major importance on regular meeting attendance, if a person is missing from meetings, its like their very salvation is put in jeopardy. Only if you are really ill, should you be missing from them, or as one Circuit Overseer put "only if your flat on your back". My observation of the effect of this kind of thinking, is that many attend these meetings under duress and are clearly not happy, but accept it as a test of loyalty to the Organization. Was this really the refreshment for your souls that Jesus spoke about? As the years went on, I began to have my doubts.
Over the years the continuous tune played over meeting attendance and regular field service, became monotonous to me. The emphasis was, that to get into the Kingdom, you needed to be fully involved with these things. Otherwise your faith would die, and Armageddon was just around the corner. It gradually became apparent to me that this was a regimented form of worship. I began to ask myself is this, what showing faith in Christ means ?
There is a "Mould" that the Watchtower Organization, tries to fit everyone into. Essentially it consists of a person spending at least 8hrs per month on the ministry, if someone fell much bellow this, without any noticeable reason, he would be sure to get a visit from the local Elders. The person would have to answer up at meetings and not miss any, without good reason. Many who did not quite fit this Mould, would on the whole be viewed as weak, and these tended to be ignored or overlooked to some degree. This puts tremendous pressure on individuals,who find it difficult to express their faith in this way. This type of Mould does not allow for individuality. Expressions of faith are manifested in many ways, but I would say rarely on a "report card".
I personally enjoyed the ministry work, but often, much of the time was taken up by calling at homes where people were out. Yet many would spend many hours like this, just to fulfill their hourly requirement. This insistence of reporting all time given to witnessing, takes away from the gift of the Gospel message as i saw it then. Jesus said in regard to giving,: "The left hand should not know what the right hand is doing" . When a person genuinely gives, he does so, without taking account of it.
When the Watchtower reports in the annual Yearbook of J.Ws how many hours worldwide have been spent in the ministry work , for what does this accomplish? Taking account of time spent this way, removes genuine expressions of faith.
I am sure that if Jehovah's Witnesses did not have to report their time taken in the ministry, this great "evidence" of their faith would fade dramatically.
Part two....... Tomorrow.
Radar